fumble
to feel or grope about clumsily: She fumbled in her purse for the keys.
Sports. to fumble the ball.
to make, handle, etc., clumsily or inefficiently: to fumble an attempt; He fumbled his way through the crowded room.
Sports. to fail to hold or maintain hold on (a ball) after having touched it or carried it.
the act of fumbling: We completed the difficult experiment without a fumble.
Sports. an act or instance of fumbling the ball.
Origin of fumble
1Other words for fumble
Other words from fumble
- fumbler, noun
- fum·bling·ly, adverb
- fum·bling·ness, noun
- outfumble, verb (used with object), out·fum·bled, out·fum·bling.
- un·fum·bled, adjective
- un·fum·bling, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use fumble in a sentence
He produced a cigar from the case in his pocket, and lit it fumblingly.
Rayton: A Backwoods Mystery | Theodore Goodridge RobertsWithout support from beyond themselves the eye stares blankly and the hand moves fumblingly.
Human Nature and Conduct | John Dewey"The Adelaide—" he mumbled, and groped fumblingly for coherent thoughts.
Then the sheriff fumblingly replaced his hat, his eyes wandering in uncertainty from Farnham to Winston.
Beth Norvell | Randall ParrishHe no longer saw anything before him; his life was again buried in mystery where he wandered fumblingly.
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
British Dictionary definitions for fumble
/ (ˈfʌmbəl) /
(intr; often foll by for or with) to grope about clumsily or blindly, esp in searching: he was fumbling in the dark for the money he had dropped
(intr; foll by at or with) to finger or play with, esp in an absent-minded way
to say or do hesitantly or awkwardly: he fumbled the introduction badly
to fail to catch or grasp (a ball, etc) cleanly
the act of fumbling
Origin of fumble
1Derived forms of fumble
- fumbler, noun
- fumblingly, adverb
- fumblingness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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